Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 vs Redmi Note 2: What has changed?

On Tuesday (24 November), Xiaomi unveiled the new Redmi Note 3 in Beijing, China.

The new generation phablet comes with major upgrades compared to its predecessor, the Redmi Note 2, in terms of build quality, battery capacity and security features.

Here is a comparison of the features of the Xiaomi Redmi Note siblings.

Design and build quality

The Redmi Note 2 features sturdy plastic body with a sleek and slim design. It measures 152.0 × 76.0 × 8.25 mm in dimensions, whereas the new Redmi Note 3 is tad bulky. It measures 150.0 × 76.0 × 8.7 mm in dimensions and weigh 164 g, 4g more than its predecessor, due to the use of metal on rear-side cover.

Display

In terms of screen, both the Redmi Note models feature 5.5-inch full HD display with 403 ppi pixel density.

It has to be noted that the Redmi Note 2's minimum screen brightness has been reduced to 10x (compared to Redmi Note's screen), and can also produce a luminance as low as 0.5 cd/m².

The Redmi Note 3 boasts of three viewing modes- Sunlight mode, Night mode and Reading mode so that users can adjust screen settings according to the lighting condition.

Processor, Storage and RAM capacity

The Redmi Note 2 comes in two variants having same MediaTek (MT6795) Helio X10 Octa-core CPU, but differ in speed.

16GB based normal Redmi Note 2 houses 2.0GHz based Helio X10, whereas the Redmi Note 2 Prime's (32GB) CPU can clock 2.2GHz speed.

Both the Redmi Note 2 models come with 2GB RAM and support microSD card slot.

The new Redmi Note 3 too comes with two variants – one with 2GB RAM/16GB storage and another with 3GB RAM/32GB memory. Both the models run on the same MediaTek (MT6795) Helio X10 Octa-core CPU.

Since the new Xiaomi phablet is made of metal based uni-body design structure, the company had to go micro-SD card slot.

Camera

The Redmi Note 2 features a 13mp camera Samsung/OV camera with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) function and 0.1s focus speed. And on the front, it houses a 5mp OmniVision snapper with 5-element lens and f/2.2 aperture.

The new Redmi Note 3 too features same components as seen in its predecessor.

Mobile Operating System

In this aspect, the Redmi Note 2 and Note 3 stand even as they run on same series devices ship with the new MIUI 7.0 out-of-the-office. It based on Google's latest Android 5.1.x Lollipop OS.

Battery

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 ships with 4000 mAh battery, which can power the device for close to 264 hours under standby mode.

On the other hand, the Redmi Note 2 houses 3060 cell capable of running the phone for up to 144 hours standby mode.

Value-added feature

The new Redmi Note 3 boasts finger-print sensor to provide a second layer of security to protect data in the phone. It has been ergonomically placed on the rear-side (below the camera module) for ease of access similar to the recently released LG Nexus 5X and Huawei Nexus 6P.

Key specifications of Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Redmi Note 2: